It is coming up on the two-year mark since we moved overseas. It isn't really news to anyone that adjusting to a new place and a new culture comes with some challenges, and there are many aspects of life here that make life a little harder.
Last week we hit a day where we were out of power for 24 hours due to a storm, and it had only been on an hour before that from our regularly scheduled power outages (which are at 12 hours per day off right now). When the power came back on, my oldest son made a comment something to the effect, "What if the power was on ALL the time?" Well, son, that would be what you call "normal" life for most Westerners.
The thing is that I have come to the place where I feel quite comfortable here and on most days am not really conscious of it feeling hard anymore. I am truly happy here and surrounded by so many amazing things and people that we would not have in our life if we didn't live here. We can see the Himalayan Mountains from our roof for a good portion of the year, for goodness sake! We have a wonderful home and are surrounded by incredible people, many of whom help us tremendously with any challenges that do arise with life here. And, there are many things about life in America that would be really hard for me if we went back--the materialism and frenzied pace of life, for example.
But, as I've been thinking and talking about with some friends recently, there is one dynamic that does take a toll, and I've found it hard to describe, but basically, it is just never being on "autopilot." You know that mode where you just stroll down the street or drive your regular route in your car or go about the routines of your day without really thinking about them? There is certainly something to be said for being more "tuned in" a lot of the time as we can sometimes miss much of life in the moment if we're just going through the motions. But, I'm talking about just having the ease of rolling through some things in the day without everything requiring heightened attention and energy.
I was comparing it to when I used to do parent conferences in Spanish as a teacher. I got to the point where I was pretty decent with my Spanish, but having focused conversations for a couple of hours in a language that I had to constantly be thinking about and not just naturally rolling with was exhausting, and I would usually go home feeling like I had just run a mental marathon.
Maybe that "auto pilot" mode will develop over enough time of being here, but for now, I'll just accept a little extra energy drain that it takes to be "on" constantly and keep searching for that magic little switch.
1 comment:
Rachel--I experienced this exact thing when I moved to France! It was impossible to describe to someone who hasn't been through it. But there were so many autopilot things that we take for granted--where is the post office, what time do they close, how much is a stamp, etc.--that you simply know from growing up in a culture.
I found that my first few weeks in France I felt like a toddler trying to absorb life around her--I was sleeping 12 hours every day! I was only there for a year, so clearly never got as integrated as you, but it was such a relief when I did begin to feel comfortable with certain things. I knew what store carried the best apples, for instance, what there hours were, and what was a good price. It is certainly hard for your mind to be turned on all the time, figuring things out. Probably a great way to keep your mind sharp, though! I'm so impressed with you guys--keep up the great posts.
Post a Comment